swenson



Patented Mar. 28', I899.

M. SWENSUN.

BAT FORMING MECHANISM.

(Application filed Sept. 13, 1897.)

3 Sheets-Sheet I.

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, m. SWENSON.

BAT FORMING MECHANISM.

(Application filed Sept. 13, 1897.)

(No Model.) 3 Sheets8heet 2.

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N0. 62|,95|. Patented Mar. 28, I899. M. SWENSON.

BAT FORMING MECHANISBL (Application filed Sept. 13, 1897.)

3 Sheets-Shaai 3.

(No Model.)

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Uriirnn ST TES PATENT OFFICE.

MAGNUS SIVENSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN COTTON COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BAT-FORMING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 621,951, dated March 28, 1899.

Application filed $eptember 13, 1897: Serial No. 651,483. N0 modelJ To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAGNUS SWENsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bat-Forming Mechanism; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improved mechanism for forming a bat of cotton which is to besubsequently wound into acylindrical bale or otherwise used. In the operation of presses for forming such bales I have found that it is desirable to produce a very thick bat, for the reason that unless such a bat is employed there is danger of the bales becoming too dense to be smoothly unwound and of the cotton becoming injured by the great pressure to which it is subjected. A very thick bat is of further advantagein that it enables the press to be operated at a relatively low speed, thereby diminishing the wear of the parts. With an ordinary condenser it is impossible to produce a thick bat, because if the condensing-cylinder is operated slowly it will become covered with the cotton and prevent the escape of air through the same. When two condensing-cylinders are employed, a bat can be made double the thickness of that formed on a single cylinder; but such a bat is still too thin for accomplishing best results.

The object of my present invention is to provide a mechanism which shall be simple in its construction and by means of which a bat of any desired thickness whatever may be produced with the use of a single cylinder.

In an application for Letters Patent filed October 16, 1896, and numbered serially 608,149, I describe and claim an apparatus having thesame objects in view and wherein I use a hopper having one or more 1nov-, able walls, a condensing-cylinder on which the bat is formed, dofferrollers for removing the bat from the cylinders, and a rapidlyrotating pickerroll for disintegrating the bat formed on the cylinder and for depositing the cotton as a loose fluffy mass in the afore said hopper, by means of which the said mass of cotton would be compressed and passed out beneath the hopper in the form of avery' thick, homogeneous, and uniform bat. While with such an apparatus a bat of the desired thickness could be produced, the employment of a picker-cylinder combined with a stationary screen against which the cotton would be thrown violently tended to wool or tangle up the fibers to a .considerable extent.

My present invention relates to improvements in the apparatus described in that application and is designed to materially simplify the construction and improve the operation thereof. In the present invention I make use of a hopper having one or more movable walls and combine therewith an ordinary condensing-cylinder rotating at such a high speed that the cotton deposited thereon by the action of the blast will be immediately thrown off by centrifugal forceand deposited in the hopper in a loose and fluffy mass, as in my former application. In this Way I am enabled to dispense with the doffer-rolls and picker-cylinder described in my former application and at the same time produce a better device for the purpose, not only because of its greater simplicity, but because the cotton will not be subjected to the effect of the picker-cylinder and cannot therefore have its fiber injured or wooled up, as explained, but will be deposited in the hopper in the same condition as it comes from the gins.

In order that my present invention may be better understood, attention is directed to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and wherein Figure 1 is a side view with one of the doors of one of the air-fines removed, so as to illustrate the condenser-drum; Fig. 2, a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 a longitudinal sectional view, on a slightlysmaller scale, of my improved bat-formin g apparatus, showing the same in connection with a saw-gin of a conventional and representative type.

A A represent the side and supporting frames of the apparatus, which are formed in any suitable way, such as will commend itself to the constructor.

B represents the hopper, which in the specific apparatus illustrated is composed of two stationary sides a a and two movable sides I) I), each movable side of the hopper consist in g of an endless belt or apron c, passing over rollers d 6, respectively, at the top and bottom. The said belts or aprons may be made in any suitable way, but preferably consist of canvas belts secured to light sprocketchains, in which case the rollers d 6 will be provided with teeth for engaging said chains, as will be understood. The said endless belts are driven in the same direction and prefer ably at the same surface speed by any suitable mechanism, that illustrated being a con= venient one for the purpose. Said mechanism comprises a pulley-wheel f, carrying a pinion g, fast to the same and being loosely mounted on the shaft h of the lower roller 6 at the left of Fig. 1. The said pinion g engages a gear 1, fast to the shaft of the other roller 0". At the other side of the shafts of the two rollers e e are two in tel-meshing gears j j, by which said rollers will be driven, so as to drive the belts when power is applied to the pulley f, as will be understood.

By mounting the pulley fand pinion g 011 the shaft of one of the rollers c wear thereof will be reduced, because said shaft will turn in the same direction as the pulley, but at less speed than the same.

In order to arrest movement of the belts 0 when necessary, I provide an ordinary clutch 7.; between the gear i and its shaft, which clutch is operated by a lever Z in the ordinary way.

Mounted above the hopper B is a condensing-cylinder O, which, as heretofore, comprises two end spiders D D,with an outer covering of wire-cloth m. The said end spiders D work snugly in the sides at it of the apparatus with a sufficiently tight joint as to prevent the escape of cotton through the same. The said condensing-cylinder is mounted on a shaft 0, which is supported in suitable frames p 2 above the hopper B, and said cylinder is operated in any suitable way, such as by a pulley q, fast to said shaft.

At the sides of the apparatus adjacent to the condensing-cylinder are air-fines E E, which communicate with the interior of said cylinder and allow for the escape of the blast through said flues. These lines are preferably continued above the roof of the building in the usual way.

In order to clean out the apparatus when desired and remove accumulated sand, dust, lint, &c., I form the air-fines E E of removable sections or doors, (indicated by the reference-letters r, s, 1 and 10,) which doors may be removed and the interiorof the apparatus thereby reached.

The flue from the gins is represented at F and enters the interior of the apparatus directly above the endless belt 0 at the left of Fig. 1, which belt is therefore made slightly shorter than the other belt.

In Fig. 3 of the drawings I illustrate the improved bat-formiu g device in combination with a saw-gin of a conventional and repre sentative type, the flue F being connected to said gin and receiving the cotton therefrom. With the type of gin shown a brush traveling behind the gin-saws sweeps the cotton off of the saws and blows it through the fine, so that said brush constitutes a means for creating a blast of air through said fine.

In the drawings I illustrate the improved bat-forming apparatus in connection with a duplex baling-press G G, by means of which the operation of forming cylindrical cotton bales maybe carried on uninterruptedly, the bat being fed alternately to the two presses. In order that this may be effected, I mount beneath the hopper B the two stationary aprons o 'v, at the apex of which is a shaft 10, which carries a flap-Valve so, by means of which the sheet or bat from the bat-forming apparatus can be directed into one or the other of the baling-presses. The said valve is operated by levers y y or in any other way.

In practice and with an apparatus such as I have described I have found that with two seventysaw gins the speed of the pulleywheelf ought to be about twenty revolutions per minute, while that of the condensing-cylinder C ought to be about one hundred and fifty revolutions per minute. lVith such an apparatus the operation is as follows: The cotton being blown from the gins by the usual blast enters the apparatus through the flue F, and as the only escape for the blast is through .the condensing-cylinder O and out through the ends thereof into the air-fines E E the blast will be directed upwardly from the flue F and the cotton will come into contact with said condensing'cylinder to allow for the escape of the air. The rapid rotation of said cylinder, however, preferably in the direction indicated by the arrow, throws off the cotton as soon as it comes in contact with said cylinder by the centrifugal effect and the cotton will be deposited in the hopper B in a loose and fluffy state, this effect being increased by reason of the fact that in passing from the condensing-cylinder down into the hopper it is subjected to the effect of the blast from the flue F. Owing, however, to the large relative contents of the apparatus with respect to the flue F, the pressure of said blast is so reduced within the apparatus as to allow the cotton to be thus thrownoff by the condensing-cylinder and deposited be tween the endless belts E E. The loose and fluffy mass of cotton thus deposited between said belts will be carried thereby and ejected from between the lower ends thereof, being at the same time subjected to a light pressure, and hence formed into a very thick, homogeneous, and substantially uniform bat.

It is to be noted that the apparatus is capable of use in other connections than with cotton-presses and wherever a thick and uniform bat is to be formed, and it is finally to be observed that instead of directing the blast from the gins into the apparatus beneath the con- (lensing-cylinder the said blast may enter the apparatus above said cylinder without materially affecting the operation of the device.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. In an apparatus for forming a light, fibrous substance, such as cotton, into a very thick, homogeneous and substantially uniform bat, the combination with a flue through which the cotton is blown, and means for generating a blast of air in the flue and by which the cotton will be carried, of a rapidly-rotating, perforated, condensing-cylinder against which the cotton will be thrown by the blast, whereby the blast will pass through the perforations in the cylinder and the cotton will be thrown off of the cylinder by the centrifugal effect, and deposited below the cylinder in the form of a light, fluffy mass, means for forming the cotton thus thrown off of the condensing-cylinder into a thick, homogeneous and substantiallyuniform bat, and means for rotating the condensing-cylinder, substantially as set forth.

2. In an apparatus for forming a light, fibrous substance, such as cotton, into a very thick, homogeneous and substantially uniform bat, the combination with a flue through which the cotton is blown, and means for generating a blast of, air in the flue and by which the cotton will be carried, of a rapidly-rotating, perforated, condensing-cylinder against which the cotton will be thrown by the blast, whereby the blast will pass through the perforations in the cylinder and the cotton will be thrown off of the cylinder by the centrifugal effect, and deposited below the cylinder in the form of a light, fluffy mass, a hopper having converging sides into which the cotton will be thus deposited, at least one of the sides of said hopper being movable whereby the cotton accumulated therein will be forced out of the hopper as a thick, homogeneous and substantially uniform bat, and means for rotating the condensing-cylinder and for moving the side or sides of said hopper, substantially as set forth.

3. In an apparatus for forming a light, fibrous substance, such as cotton, intoavery thick, homogeneous and substantially uniform bat, the combination with a flue through which the cotton is blown, and means for generating a blast of air in the fine and by which the cotton will be carried, of a rapidlyrotating, perforated, condensing cylinder against which the cotton will be thrown by 1 the blast, whereby the blast will pass through the perforations in the cylinder and the cotton will be thrown off of the cylinder by the centrifugal effect, and deposited belowthe cylinder in the form of a light, fluffy mass, a hopper beneath the condensing-cylinder into which the cotton is thus deposited and having two movable converging sides by which the cotton will be forced out of the hopper and compressed in a thick, homogeneous and substantially uniform bat, means for rotating the condensing-cylinder, and means for moving the two movable sides of the hopper,- substantially as set forth.

4. In an apparatus for forming a light, fibrous substance, such as cotton, into a very thick, homogeneous and substantially uniform bat, the combination with a flue through which the cotton is blown, and means for generating a blast of air in the fine and by which the cotton will be carried, of a rapidlyrotating, perforated, condensing cylinder mounted above said flue and against which the cotton will be thrown by the blast, whereby the blast will pass through the perforations in the cylinder and the cotton will be thrown ofi of the cylinder by the centrifugal effect to be subjected to the effect of the blast,

' and deposited below the cylinder in the form of a light, flu'ffy mass, a hopper having converging sides into which the cotton will be thus deposited, at least one of the sides of said hopper being movable whereby the cotton accumulated therein will be forced out of the hopper as a thick, homogeneous and substantially uniform bat, and means for rotating the condensing cylinder and for moving the side or sides of said hopper, substantially as set forth.

. 5. In an apparatus for forming a light, fibrous substance, such as cotton, into a very thick, homogeneous and substantially uniform bat, the combination with a flue through which the cotton is blown, and means for generating a blast of air in the fine and by which the cotton will be carried, of a rapidlyrotating, perforated, condensing cylinder against which the cotton will be thrown by the blast, whereby the blast will pass through the perforations in the cylinder and the cotton will be thrown off of the cylinder'by the centrifugal effect and deposited below the cylinder in the form of a light, fluffy mass, an air-flue communicating with the interior of said condensing-cylinder, a hopper having converging sides into which the cotton will be deposited, at least one of the sides of said hopper being movable whereby the cotton accumulated therein will be forced out of the MAGNUS SWENSON.

NVitnesses:

A. W. \VALBURN, B. A. JOHNSTON. 

